


Comfort Zone

by Ardra



Category: Homestuck
Genre: M/M, Pale Romance | Moirallegiance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-18
Updated: 2014-07-18
Packaged: 2018-02-09 11:05:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,023
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1980552
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ardra/pseuds/Ardra
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Karkat: tend to your Moirail</p><p>I was jonesin' for some GamKar</p>
            </blockquote>





	Comfort Zone

Your name is Karkat Vantas... And someone is calling you just when you were about to fall asleep. You had just settled in your coon, and found that one spot that is usually so elusive to you that makes it feel like you're being wrapped in the most high quality of snuggle planes while actually being surrounded by slime. You are so comfortable in this spot, you feel like a grub again. You felt like the world could go down around you, but as long as this spot remained, you would die so very happy. It's so tempting to just ignore the caller and continue on your way to the dream place, but that horrendous ring tone you'd set your Huskphone at is not letting up. You think that at some point it went to Squak Mail and the person called back immediately after not leaving a message. 

Fuck, they aren't going to let up.

You force yourself out of that amazing spot. Good bye comfortable day's sleep. You grab that offending items. The back light is bright and burns your peeping orbs. You hold it away, reaching up with your still slime covered arm and rub them to get the glare of the light out. Once you feel you can look at this stupid, STILL RINGING thing, you check the caller ID.

-Gamzee-

Shit. He never calls this late. Usually he's passed out in the middle of one of his horn piles with that stupid, cute grin on his face. Gamzee loves to go to sleep early because he sleeps the longest out of any Troll you know. You think it has something to do with how cold his blood is and how susceptible to heat that he tends to be. You know for sure that you hate it when it's cold out because your body can't keep itself warm unless bundled up, a fact that Kanaya loves because she adores making those horribly bright sweaters for you. You know she means well and all, but the couple times she sent you a red one, you about flipped shit. She of all Trolls know that you don't like that color because it scares you to think that someone would find out it's actually your blood color.

Fuck, you spaced out and Gamzee is still calling you. 

"Gam, what the hell? Do you even know what time it is?" you ask, sounding a bit more angry than you meant to.

"Uh... Actually, I haven't the slightest, Karbro... Were you all up and cooned up for the day?"

He sounds terrible. You can't place what it is but the way he's talking and his tone just make your blood pusher ache a little. Something was wrong and if Gamzee thought he was bothering you, he would try to 'get through it' on his own, which never ended well for him.

He probably had another nightmare. Yeah. That has to be it. He went to bed earlier and had a nightmare and called you. Sounds legit. 

"I'm not going to lie to you, Gam, I was cooned up but the phone kept going off so I'm up now. What's wrong?"

"Nah. It's no big deal, brother. I was just missing my diamond is all..."

Ugh. You hate the weird flipping, flutter feeling your blood pusher makes when he says that. You'd been alternating going to his hive and yours for the past couple of months. You were too afraid Gamzee would get lost and culled if he tried to go to your hive without someone to guide him. You're always worried about him, but you can't leave your hive unattended for too long. Who knows what you might come back to one night if you're gone for too long.

"But I all up and understand that a brother needs his shut eye."

"Stop. I'll be there in fifteen minutes."

"You will?" 

God, he sounds so happy about that. Like you just promised him a baby barkbeast or something, "Yes, Gam. I will be there in fifteen minutes. Just let me get dressed and dried off."

You can hear him purring over the phone and it makes your face heat up. Fuck, you're so pale for this stupid piece of shit.

"Think you should dry off before you all up and get dressed, though, Karbro. You don't want to dirty your clothes with slime and all."

Idiot, "I know how to get dressed, you dumb shit. You're the only one of us that has problems with that." You're climbing out of your coon now, huskphone pressed to your ear with your shoulder as you needed both hands to help get you out of the sopor as Gamzee chuckles, it's so broken up by his purring that is sounds more like a weird motor that needs to be fixed.

You roll your eyes again, "See you soon, Gam." is all you say as you hang up the phone and get started drying off.

~*~*~

Okay, it takes you a little longer than fifteen minutes to get to Gamzee's hive. You forgot to take your clothes out of the tumble tunnel so you had to let it run for a about ten minutes so your clothes were dry enough to make it to Gamzee's place.

Once you get there, though. Holy shit.

You barely walked through the door and he's on you like white on rice. You don't even have time to gasp as he charges you, wraps his arms around you and lifts you up a bit to where you need to stand on your tip toes just to feel the ground still under your feet. He buries his face into the side of your neck, nuzzling the flesh there and he feels so cool to the touch. Oh, Gods, he's purring so loud. You can barely hear yourself think over the rumbling, not only coming from his face hole, but the rolling ripples as it starts in his chest and tumbles up through his squawk box.

You roll your eyes fondly and wrap your arms around his waist, channeling everything nice you could feel to him. All good vibes, thoughts and loving care. You are stupidly pale for this pathetic excuse for a highblood Troll. It takes you a couple seconds to realize that Gamzee is not going to ease up on his embrace any time soon. He's nuzzling the flesh at your neck, still, probably smearing his paint all over you in the process but you can't bring yourself to care enough to do anything.

"I'm so fucking glad you are here, Karbro. It's all lonely up in here all alone."

Your blood pusher feels like an ice shard is pushed into it. Gamzee grew up alone in his hive, not a lusus to be found to take care of him for so long that he was sure loneliness didn't bother him. For him to say such a thing, it really brings it home for you how much he depends on you to feel loved and placid. He needs you as much as you need him.

You run the palms of your hands in soothing circles on his back, shushing him softly as you use your left hand to tug at the locks of messy hair and you grimace. His hair is oily and matted, and now that you're thinking of it, he reeks of dried sopor and old Faygo. You tilt your head a little, trying to see his horns but his face is buried too deep into your neck. Shit, you can feel his long fangs against your flesh. If he wanted to bite you and kill you, he had a perfect shot right now.

Gods, why does your mind always go to the worse case scenario? What is wrong with you. It's just Gamzee. Your harmless, smelly, greasy Moirail.

You don't want to dislodge Gamzee from you but you do. You put your hands between the two of you and push on his chest until he gets the hint and lets you stand back on the flat of your feet. You look up at his horns and grimace, they're filthy and flaking at the tips, which means Gamzee hasn't been taking care of them, as usual. God, it's so unfair. You've seen him a mess before but what worries you a little is the fact that his face paint is completely messed up. You know he was cuddling into your neck, but the amount of fucked up his paint is tells you that he didn't apply it like he usually does. It was half assed and Gamzee loves his paint, he would never half ass his devotion to the Mirthful Messiahs.

You reach up, running the pad of your thumb over his cheek, noting how dry and flaky his skin is where the paint has been rubbed off. You really need to stop leaving him alone for weeks at a time. It would be so much better for him if you could just stay here forever and take care of him. Your heart does a happy flip at that idea. Stay with Gamzee forever and never leave him alone again. You kind of like it but you dismiss the thought soon enough as Gamzee nuzzles your hand before planting a small kiss on your palm.

God dammit.

"Gam, when was the last time you ate?"

Gamzee looks at you, a dreamy look on his face, as if he wasn't completely one hundred percent there but he shrugs as an answer. Of course. You pull your hand away, ignoring the throb of your pusher when he whimpers at the loss, and take his hand. You lead him to the ablution block and force him to sit on the chute bowl.

"Take off those clothes. They reek." you tell him as you stop up the hole in the tub and turned the tap, starting to fill up the trap.

You turn back and- He's struggling with his shirt. You roll your eyes again (man you are doing a lot of that today) and grab the shirt, batting his hands from the edge. You gently ease him out of his shirt and toss it in a corner then helped him remove his pants, then put them with the shirt. Once he's naked, you check the trap, it still has a bit before its ready.

"Don't move." you tell him. The last thing you need to have happen is him drown himself trying to get in the tub alone. You pick up his dirty clothes and head to the laundry room, picking up more of his dirty clothes on the way until you have a load you can shove in there. Once it's started, you return to Gamzee in time to stop the trap before it over flows onto the floor.

Getting Gamzee in the tub is always a struggle. Either he wants to get in and slips in his hurry to get in the warm water, or he doesn't want to get in because he's touch starved and doesn't want to be sensory starved as well. Knowing this, you strip down to nothing and step into the trap. The water is warm enough to be hot but not scalding. Once you're in, you hold your hand out to Gamzee, inviting him to take it.

He does, eventually. You gently guide him to the edge of the trap then support him as he slowly climbs in. Once he's in, you lower the both of you until you're both mid chest deep in the water. He looks down at the water, seeming fascinated by the steam as you make him spread his legs so you can kneel between them. Using your thumb and palm, you alternate running your hand through the water and over his face, wiping off the rest of the grease paint there. Soon, he's stripped of his colors, completely naked, literally and figuratively, before you. He has a concentrated look on his face now and your run your thumb over the crease in his forehead, smoothing it.

You grab the bottle of body wash off the edge of the trap and begin work scrubbing his chest and arms. He's purring the whole time you are working before you cup water in your hands and cascade it over him, rinsing the suds away. He has a couple dry patches of skin, but you know that you left a bottle of oil in the ablution cupboard so you will slather him with it later.

"Lay down." you tell him gently, reaching around and pressing your palm to the back of his neck.

Gamzee lets out an unsure noise, looking at you pleadingly.

"I've got you. I won't let you drown. Just lay back enough to get your hair and horns wet. I'll keep your head above the water." you tell him, giving his neck a slight squeeze to show him that his hand was there and it wasn't going anywhere.

His eyes are locked onto you the entire time he is leaning back. He goes slow and you follow the motion with your body until he his is submerged and you are leaning over him. You only have one free hand right now but you use it to run your fingers through the matted locks, breaking them up a little and getting every strand wet. Once he's wet enough, you pull on his neck a little and help him to sit up as you lean back onto your knees. You scrub his hair clean and repeat the leaning back process to rinse his hair. You are about to pull away from him to let the water out of the trap and he grabs your chin and makes you look at him.

"I didn't get ta you, Karbro." he said, an almost determined look on his face as he says it. He was going to clean you weather you needed it or not.

You let him clean you. He mimics what you did for him so he could wash your hair for you. You just sat back and enjoyed the attention lavished on you, purring like a pale whore the whole time. It always made you feel so tingly when Gamzee pale pampers you. Some would think it doesn't happen often but it does and Gamzee was a pro at it. You could be in the biggest rage possible and some how this shitty clown was able to not only bring you down from your rage, but make you feel loved enough that you didn't need to rage anymore and it sometimes let you see how stupid you're being at some of the reasons you flip shit.

Once Gamzee finishes rinsing your hair for you, you let out the stopper and the water begins to drain. You dry him off and he dries you off. You get back into your clothes but Gamzee still doesn't have anything clean to wear so you tie the absorbent plane around his waist and lead him to the couch. You force him to sit down and once he does, you kiss his forehead to reaffirm that you aren't going to go anywhere as he was looking at you with those lost baby barkbeast eyes. You throw the clothes from the cleaner and put it in the dryer. On your way back to Gamzee, you pull out the kit you keep with you for reasons such as this. You made it after the last time you had to clean his horns for him. You climb up onto the back of the couch and start working.

You first use a watered down cleaner to clean off his horns and then begin to polish them. As you work, flakes of horn fall off like dandruff on a scalp and you're gentle with the spots that are a different color than the area around it, where fresh horn was starting to come in. Not only were they a mess, but he's starting to molt as well. You know your own horns are very sensitive at all times because of how small and round they are, but they are a hundred times more sensitive when molting so using that as a basis, you are extremely careful and gentle with Gamzee's horns. The last thing he needs right now is thinking that you are angry with him for not taking care of them when you're not.

Gamzee has a stupid, content look on his face when you lean over to look at him. He grins like a loon and leans forward, gently bopping your forehead with his own. You shake your head and get up. He looks slightly worried as you go back into the Ablution Block and get the bottle of oil from the closet and return to your spot. He looks confused now but you assure him that it's nothing.

Now you are slathering oil over his dry skin and start to rub circles around tense muscles in his shoulders and neck. He moans in appreciation and your blood pusher flutters happily. Every circular push you do on his muscles solicits another happy moan from his chest and another fluttery flip to your pusher. You've never given him a message before but he is diffidently enjoying it.

He's purring by the time you are done and drying your hands on the towel around his waist. You can feel the vibrations through his back and the dreamy, content look on his face was too adorable. Brushing his hair was an interesting feat for you, though. Even after being cleaned, he still had some matting at the base of his scalp. You have to work it out slowly so you don't hurt him. His clothes are dry before you finish so you let them be for a bit until you can easily run your brush through his hair again. You put the brush away and go to climb down, until you realize that he is literally hugging your leg. He has his arms wrapped around your right leg, and he's nuzzled into the fabric of your jeans, eyes closed, contently rumbling loudly. He looks so peaceful and comfortable that you hate to move him.

"Gamzee. Gamzee, wake up. Come on." you say, your voice foreign and soft to him.

Slowly you coax him out of his light doze and leave the couch. You get his dry clothes and run head first into his chest when you try to return to him. He's looking at you, eyes half open from still being sleepy before he picks you up, bundle of clothes in your arms and all. He takes you to his respite block and goes to lower you in a horn pile but you struggle a little.

"Wait, I have clothes here." you tell him as he sets you on your feet. 

He looks at the clothes in your arms as if he's seeing them for the first time. You sigh and roll your eyes (there it is again!). You're about to remind him of being naked when he takes the bundle away from you and starts to work it into the horn pile. You gape a little as he turns the horn pile into a horn and clothes pile. He looks back at you, a proud, but still sleepy look on his face and you feel that fluttering in your chest again. Damn it. 

You go to the other side of the room where a large snuggle plane was and bring it over. You climb into the pile, making yourself comfortable then pat beside you where you want Gamzee to lay. He smiles like an idiot and climbs in. You work items in the pile around the two of you so you are surrounded by clothes and horns but not separated from each other. He pulls you to his chest (ugh. There's that purring again), and you pull the snuggle plane over the two of you, taking the time to tuck the edges around Gamzee, which he does the same for you until you are both bag wormed to each other. 

Gamzee is a bit taller than you, so it's no surprise that while laying down, you can snuggle into his chest as he places his chin on your head between your nubby horns. Gamzee rubs the pad of his thumb over your horns, which sets you off into your own chest rumbling purring session. You can tell he's smiling, you don't have to see it. You just know that dopey smile is on his face again as the two of you drift off to sleep.

~*~*~

You are awoken by the sound of a horn and a startled yell. You bolt straight up, reaching for your sickle in your strife specibus but all you see is Gamzee looking at you like a guilty party caught red handed. You look to the hive window and see that the sun is just starting to set. It's not time to get up yet but Gamzee is already up, one of his shirts hanging off his shoulders. Without his paint on, you can see in the indigo tinting his face. He's embarrassed that he scared himself and woke you up.

"Gam? It's still early. Come back to the pile." you tell him, holding out your hand to him but he doesn't take it. Odd.

"I got up and shit to use the toilet and I scared myself with a mother fuckin' horn. I ain't tired no more, Karbro." he said, not looking at you anymore as he rubbed his left shoulder with his right hand.

God, he's adorable when he looks guilty. You want to just go back to sleep, but Gamzee is up and it was time to be a good Moirail and make sure your pale love eats something. You clamber out of the pile and stand, your bones popping as they shift back into place. You are thinking of what to make him for breakfast when he pulls you into a tight embrace, it's almost crushing you.

"Don't leave again, Karbro. I don't want you to leave again." he says into your shoulder.

He sounds so lost and sad as he says that, it makes something deep in you ache. Something that can't bare to hear him use this tone. Your imagining pan conjures images of a tiny Gamzee at the edge of a beach, using this tone and these words as his lusus swims off and abandoned him. God, you hate that piece of shit lusus. That is one lusus you are happy to see dead and at the same time, you hurt because Gamzee was hurting so badly when he found his goatdad dead, washed up on the shore. You never want to see your Moirail that devastated again.

"I won't leave." you tell him, "Not forever."

"Stay here. Please. Can you stay here with me?"

God, that tone. Seriously, pathetic baby barkbeasts have nothing on this pathetic, sad tone of his. It could level fleets of hardened, Condecense trained soldiers with pale feelings. You push that thought aside as you're starting to feel possessive of your Moirail to soldiers in your own imagining pan. After tightening your hold, it hits you exactly what he is saying.

"You want me to move in with you?" you asked, sounding bewildered.

"Yes! Yes, that is mother fucking perfect, my pale love! Stay here, live here." he says, you can feel the start of his purring building up in his chest, his muscles quivering in excitement at his own idea.

He's so stupid and cute. Augh, you are horribly and hopelessly pale right now. You pretend to be mulling it over but you both know what your answer is going to be.

"I'll get my things."

Okay, he is crushing you now. You can't breathe, and your bone column just popped in several places, sending not only blood rushing back to an area that you didn't even know was blood starved but also that pale feeling that made your spine tingle.

Yeah. You aren't going anywhere, you pale whore, you.


End file.
